High density press



'March 9, 1943. '5. Y. TAYLOR 2,313,102

HIGH DENSITY PRESS Filed April 24, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Ia -1-- 14 i HIIIIIIIIIHIII INVENTOR 6AM K mud/P Arrows/5W March 1943- 5. Y. TAYLOR2,313,102

HIGH DENSITY PRES S Filed April 24, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 V A 7 VfirroRNsy March 9', 1943.

s. Y. TAYLOR- I HIGH DENSITY PRESS s Sheets -Sheet 3 Filed April 24,1939 Patented Mar. 9, 1943 HIGH DENSITY PRESS Samuel Y. Taylor,Horuston, Tex., assignor of fifty per cent to F. J. Herbclin, Galveston,Tex.

Application April 24, 1939, Serial No. 269,554 3 Claims. (c1; 1oo-1)This invention relates to the baling of cotton or other fibrous materialinto high density bales.

While the present invention is not confined to the handling of cotton,reference is made thereto by way of illustration. The customaryprocedure in the handling of cotton is to form, at the gin, large lowdensity bales which are partially covered with bagging. These bales aresubsequently formed, at a different place, into high density bales inorder to facilitate shipment thereof. Such bales are usually of arectangular cross section and are held in compressed form by means ofsteel bands or ties which are applied while the material is held incompression. This procedure is expensive and the resulting bale isunsatisfactory, both in appearance and the condition of the material atthe time such material is to be utilized by the spinner.

In order to avoid some of the difiiculties already indicated it has beenproposed to form a round bale at the gin. Such procedure isunsatisfactory as the machines and methods have not been developed tothe point where bales of satisfactory density can be produced in amanner which is economically feasible. The present invention overcomesthese various dimculties in a manner to be more fully described.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a device ofimproved construction for conveniently condensing and baling cotton,wool or other fibrous materials.

Another object is to form a highly compressed bale of fibrous materialby spirally wrapping a bat or web of the material, pressure beingconstantly applied by rolling contact at spaced points on the peripherythereof.

Another object is to form a bale having a substantially elongatedtransverse cross section.-

Still another object is to form bales of compressed fibrous material ofelongated or substantially elliptical cross section, the novel mechanismfor producing such bales being so constructed that substantially uniformrolling pressureis constantly applied to the periphery of the bale,whereby the material is compressed from the center outwardly during theformation of th bale.

Another object is to form a bale of oblong cross section in such mannerthat the baled material may be withdrawn therefrom by continu-- ouslyunwinding the bat which was spirally wound to form the bale.

It is also an object to provide a bale press in which a bat of materialto be baled is spirally wound upon a driven cor of oblong cross section,

pressure retaining heads being used at the ends of the core during theformation of the bale and adapted from the expansive effort of the baledmaterial to effect release of the core member from the driving meanswhen the bale is completed.

It is also an object to provide a bale press which, when used for thebaling of raw cotton,

may be utilized as a gin press, thereby eliminating successively forminlow and high density bales.

Still another object is to provide a bal press of the class described inwhich pressure is applied to the compressible material by means ofpaired rollers which are mounted in cradles so that the pressure isuniformly applied regardless of the position of the rollers upon thechanging contour of the material being baled.

Another object is to provide a bale press in which paired pressurerollers surround a driven bale core of oblong cross section, suchrollers being so mounted as to constantly apply uniform rolling pressureupon the material which is fed between the rollers and the core forcompression. Still another object is to provide a bale press forspirally wrapping compressible material into a bale of oblong crosssection, rolling pressure being applied at all times to the periphery ofthe bale so that the fibers of the material are not unduly stressed inthe completed bale.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the drawings of a mechanism which illus tratesboth the method and apparatus and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a construction embodying the invention,the driving mechanism being removed therefrom.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates an alternate construction for supplying power to thedriving head assemblies.

Fig. 4 is a secional view taken on line 4-4 gf Fig. 5 andv illustratinga partially completed ale.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. I

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through one of the driving head assemblies,taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. l but illustrating theuse of supplemental structure for applying the desired pressure to thematerial to be compressed.

Figs. 8 and 9 are plan and elevation views respectively of a removablecore member comprising an element of the invention.

The device of the invention is illustrated in the drawings as comprisinga frame having spaced side members ly and 2 which are secured in placeby means of transverse upper and lower tie members 3 and 4. The sidemembers and 2 have central openings Ill to receive driving headassemblies generally indicated as H. Opening H! is counterbored at itsinner end at l2 to receive the flange l3 on the drive collar |4. Whenthe drive collar M is in position within the opening ID, the assembly issecured in place by means of a collar |5 secured thereto on the outsideof the frame member.

It is to be noted that the collar H '(see Fig. 6) is provided with abottom 29 having a slot 2| to receive a tongue 22: which extendsinwardly from the circular block 24 which is adapted to enter the collar[4.

A core 25 of wood or other suitable material is reduced at its ends at26 to enter a complementary recess 21 in the inner ends of the tongues22. It is believed apparent that when the blocks 24 and their associatedtongues are inserted within the collars l4, the core 25 will be engagedthereby so that the driving head assemblies and the core may rotate as aunit.

A mechanism for driving the heads II and the core 25 is shown in Figs.2, 5 and 6 as a shaft 39. This shaft has a portion 3| which enters thecollar l4 and engages the block 24. The shaft is secured to the collar Mby means of cap screws 32 and in this manner the blocks 24 arerestrained against outward movement.

The tongues 22 are of reduced cross section at their inner ends toprovide a shoulder 33 against which restraining plates 34 abut. Sincethese plates are subjected to material transverse pressure that wouldtend to cause'buckling, supporting means such as pins 9 .pass throughopenings ID in the driving heads These support pins are held in placeand resist transverse pressure upon the restraining plates until suchtime as it is desired to release the baled material from within thedevice as will more fully appear.

Mounted transversely of the frame within slots 40 and 4| in the membersI; and 2 are shafts 43 and 44. Cables 45 and 46 are attached to theseshafts at their outer ends, these cables passing over rollers 41 and 43and having their outer ends secured to weight member 49.

As the construction just described is symmetrical the weight 49 willproduce effort which uniformly tends to move the shafts 43 and 44inwardly toward the center of rotation of the driving heads and corealready described.

A cradle assembly generally indicated as 50 is mounted upon each of theshafts 43 and-44 between the frame members I and 2. Each of theseassemblies comprises a roller support member 5| which is provided withopenings 52 and 53 above and below the shafts 43 and 44 in which upperand lower rollers 55 and 56 are journaled. An arm 60 is attached to eachof the support members 5| and the outer ends of these arms areinterconected through a bar 6| whereby the entire cradle assembly,including the rollers 55' and 56 may rock about its shaft 43 or 44. Aplurality of weights 62 are mounted upon the bar 6| so that the cradleassembly is balanced upon the supporting shaft.

By means of this construction the force exerted by each of the shafts 43and 44 toward the axis of rotation of the driving mechanism isdistributed between the two rollers 55 and 56 of the associated cradleassembly. The operation of the construction is such as to constantlyapply desired inward pressure upon the forming bale to maintain thedesired condition of compression of the material already in positionupon the core 25, and to progressively add thereto a batt 15 of thematerial to form the completed bale.

While desired pressure may be applied through the instrumentality of theconstruction as described in connection with the weight 49, suchpressure may be supplemented by means of the construction shown in Fig.7 wherein a plurality of springs 65, 66, 61 and 68 surrounding thedriving head II have their outer ends attached to the shafts 43 and 44.The lower ends of the springs 61 and 68 are attached to the framethrough a spring 10, while the upper ends of the springs 65 and 66 areattached to a movable support having a roller 12 which rides upon camsurface 13 upon the driving head II. It is understood that the camsurface 13 will be of such configuration that the supplemental forceexerted by this arrangement is such as to provide the desired pressureexerted by the rollers 55 and 56 upon the material being formed intoabale on the core 25.

The disclosed construction operates in a manner that will now bedescribed.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a sectional view through the device in which apartially formed bale 24' is in position upon the core 25, the assemblybeing rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 23. It is obviousthat as the core 25 and the bale 24' rotate, the bat 15 is woundspirally thereon. During such winding operation the pairs of rollers 55and 56 are urged inwardly toward the center of rotation and the cradleassemblies rock upon their respective shafts 43 and 44 as the rollersfollow the changing and irregular contour of the bale 24'. This rollingpressure forces the fibers of the bale into close contiguity whereby ahigh density bale of gen-- erally elliptical cross section is formed.

To facilitate use of the material of the .bale 24 by the spinner aplurality of cords i6, preferably of the same material, may beincorporated in the bale. Such cords enable unwinding the bale in batform and the bat together with the cord material enter directly into thefirst operation in conversion of the fibrous material into a finishedproduct.

When the bale 24' has attained a desired size, bagging or other suitablematerial is introduced between the rollers and the bale and is thus madeto surround the bale. This covering material is secured about the balein any suitable manner as by stitching, or if desired, bands or othersuitable ties may be placed around the bale.

The blocks 24 in the driving heads are then released by loosening thecap screws 32 so that the shaft 30 may move axially for a limiteddistance whereupon the expansive pressure of the bale 24 upon theretaining plates 34 will force the blocks 24 outwardly whereby the balewill be released to fall under gravity to a position below the windingmechanism. Thereafter the covering material of the bale may be desirablysecured about the ends thereof so that the compressed material will becompletely covered.

An alternative manner of transmitting power to the driving heads II isshown in Fig. 3 wherein. a cog wheel I4 is secured to the end of thecollar Id. In this embodiment the block 24 is held wtihin the collar [4by any suitable releasable means whereby the removal of a bale from thedevice is facilitated' In Figs. 8 and 9 there is shown an alternativecore construction to be used when it is desired to remove the core fromthe formed bale. This core comprises elongated fiat members 57 and 58which are tapered in opposite directions and when assembled provide acore of substantially rectangular cross section. Each of the members 51and 58 is provided with shoulders 59 against which the retaining plates34 abut when the core is in use.

When utilizing a core as disclosed in Figs. 8 and 9 the tongue 22 ismade removable from the block 24 and the ends 63 of the core areinserted through the opening 2| in the collar l 3 into a slot in theinner ends of the blocks 2d.

The construction just described is operated in a manner above describedin connection with the use of the core 25 illustrated in Figs. 4, and 6.

When the block 24 is released, however the expansive pressure of thebale 24' against the retaining plates 34 causes the core members 5! and58 to move outwardly respectively. Such outward movement causes thetransverse thickness of the core to decrease because of the taperedsection of these members. Accordingly the .core members are releasedfrom excessive pressure and may be withdrawn from within the bale.

While in the disclosure of the invention reference has been made tospecific constructions and technique, it is to be understood that theinvention is not confined thereto but broadly comprehends the productionof high density bales of compressible material by spirally winding andcompressing a bat of such material into a bale having an elongatedtransverse cross section.

What is claimed is:

1. A bale press for compressing a bat of fibrous material deliveredthereto, said press comprising a frame, opposed driving heads in saidframe, means for driving said heads, a core, drive members releasablysecured in each of the heads and engaging an end of the core, aretaining end plate on and rotatable with each of said members, idlingpressure rollers extending longitudinally of the core member andentering between the end plates to engage and compress the bat spirallywound on the core, said rollers being arranged in pairs, a mounting foreach of said pairs,

each of said mountings being rockably mounted about a shiftable axisparallel to and spaced from the core so that the rollers of each .pairfollow the contour of the forming roll and apply equal pressures overspaced areas which extend axially and peripherally of the roll, andmeans urging each of said pairs of rolls into engagement with thematerial on the core.

2. A press for forming a compressed bale from a bat of fibrous materialdelivered thereto, said press comprising, a frame, an elongated core oftransverse oblong cross section extending transversely of said frame,means for supporting and driving said core, a plurality of cradles,means whereby said cradles are indepenedntly rockably mounted in theframe, a pair of rollers in each of said cradles and extendingthroughout the length of the core, and means for moving the cradles withsaid rolls in engagement with the bat of material so that the rollers ofeach pair apply substantially equal pressures upon the forming bale tocompress the spiral turns of the bat upon the core during the formationof a bale of the bat material.

3. A press comprising a frame, opposed driving heads rotatably mountedin the frame, means for driving said heads, a core member having itsopposite ends attached to said heads to be driven thereby, a pressuredisc at each end of said core and rotatable therewith, pressure rollersindependently rockably mounted in pairs and extending lonigtudinally ofthe core and coextensive therewith, said rollers being adapted to enterbetween said discs to engage the material upon the core, and means forurging said pressure rollers into engagement with the material with aconstant force which is independent of the size of the formed portion ofthe bale.

SAM Y. TAYLOR.

